My Farewell Talk

Hola me llamo Camille Rasmussen me gusta taco bell, donde esta el bano…and that’s about as far as I can go. If the gift of tongues is real then hopefully a year and a half from now I can tell you more. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Camille Rasmussen and I have been called to serve for a period of 18 months in the Peru Cusco mission. I want to rewind to my life about 9 months ago. I was standing in Cusco Peru having a conversation with my brother Scott when he asked me if I (like him) would want to serve my mission in Peru? I responded “mmya but It would have to be in Cusco” well I guess someone was listening. Forward 6 months later and my call had finally come, while reading my call I knew I wanted to look and see where I would be serving before saying it out loud to my friends and family, so when I read The Peru Cusco Mission a flood of thoughts and feelings ran through my head, besides the fact that my mom is from Peru and my brother served in the same area, and we as a family had been there 6 months prior I knew in that moment that my call was inspired by God and was of no coincidence

I would like to start with a scripture Alma 37:6 “ Behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass,” So what are the simple things and what great things can they bring to pass in our lives. The answer is quite simple and seems to be the answer to every starting question of every Sunday school lesson, Prayer, Daily Scripture study, Choosing the right. President Monson said

“ these suggestions are not new, they have been taught and repeated again and again if we incorporate them into our lives however, we will have the strength to withstand the adversary, Should we ignore them we will be opening the door for Satan to have influence and power over us,”

Let’s start with Daily Scripture study: Now I will admit that I am no poster child for scripture study. When I was younger I remember hearing those stories where people would be flipping through the scriptures and they would stop on a random page and a verse would be highlighted that had the answer to all their life’s problems. SO naturally my scripture study would consist of me opening up to a random page and waiting for concourses of angels to sing hallelujah while I read the solution to my life’s woes. Sadly it did not work like that and I would end up turning to the exciting chapter where omner begat Kish and kish begat riplakish and riplakish begat kishkumen and so on. Well I am happy to announce as of last week I don’t do that anymore. (haha just kidding dad) We are taught of great spiritual and temporal blessings we receive through consistent scripture study. With consistent (key word consistent) scripture study we are laying the foundation upon which are testimonies may grow and flourish. I love the analogy Elder Bednar made when he said

"if you and I are focused and frequent in receiving consistent drops of spiritual nourishment, then gospel roots can sink deep into our soul, can become firmly established and grounded, and can produce extraordinary and delicious fruit,”

Wasn't it the best feeling when in school the teacher would announce that the test was an open book test. Well brothers and sisters life is an open book test and that book is the scriptures. Heavenly father sent us with a manual on how to navigate through this mortal probation and return safely to his presence. Daily scripture study may seem a small and simple thing but it has the power the change our lives and the lives of our families.

Next daily prayer: I seriously LOVE prayer. wow what an amazing gift that is. Not only do we have the scriptures to help guide us through life but we have a 2 way communication to our heavenly father, our creator, who has a plan for us and wants us to succeed. President monsoon councils “To those within the sound of my voice who are struggling with challenges and difficulties large and  small, prayer is the provider of spiritual strength; it is the passport to peace. Prayer is the  means by which we approach our Father in Heaven, who loves us. Speak to Him in prayer  and then listen for the answer. Miracles are wrought through prayer.”

Lastly Choosing the right every day. Well that sounds simple enough. Yet the consequences of not doing so can bring us farther from the lord then we would ever want to be. Elder L. Whitney Clayton said:

“Keep your spiritual compasses before you constantly. Watch them carefully. Don’t allow yourself even a single degree of deviation from the strait and narrow path. An error of just a degree or two will make a huge difference over time,”  

Here is an example Elder Uchtdorf would use to teach young pilots this principle "Suppose you were to take off from an airport at the equator, intending to circle the globe, but your course was off by just one degree. By the time you returned to the same longitude, how far off course would you be? A few miles? A hundred miles? The answer might surprise you. An error of only one degree would put you almost 500 miles off course."

President Hinckley states that it “is the way with our lives. Instead of following a steady course we [can] be pulled from our original destination. If the movement ever so small is continued that very small movement becomes a great gap and we find ourselves far from where we intended to go.”

Doing these things is easier said than done. The trick is to make it a habit “we 1^st make our habits then our habits make us” Everyone including myself find it a constant struggle to make these things an integral part of our day to day lives but they are essential if we want to stay on the straight and narrow. Elder Uchtdorf councils

“try and keep on trying until that which seems difficult becomes possible and that which seems only possible becomes habit and a real part of you”

I have been so blessed to have been taught the small and simple things through primary, Sunday school, and young women lessons. I want to thank all my teachers throughout the years in this ward. Im sorry for all the times I was Chatty Kathy during lessons which seemed to occur too often but your example and effort and love was felt. There are so many in this ward who have been such examples to me who probably don’t even know it but your faithfulness in your callings and acts of quiet service do not go unnoticed and has taught me what it is to be true disciples of Christ.

Heavenly father has blessed me with some of the greatest friends who are examples to me every day and truly make me strive to be a better person.

I am So grateful for my parents who have done and sacrificed so much for me and are the reason I'm standing here today. And for my siblings who have become some of my best friends, I know I can be sassy with them and they are forced to be by my side everyday, that’s the great things about families through good and bad days they’re forever.

I am most grateful to my father in heaven and for my savior Jesus Christ who suffered all because he loves us and I feel that love everyday in the world around me. I'm so grateful for my heavenly father for giving me a chance to bring the good news of the gospel to the Peruvian people. Even though I feel SO incredibly inadequate, I'm just a 19 year old girl who can barely kill a spider by herself but I'm willing and I have faith that the lord will shape me into the servant he needs me to be. I pray that we may remember that we have the good news of the gospel in our lives today and if we only remember to do the small and simple things then the greatest blessing heavenly father has to give may to come to us and our families.